the best middle eastern gyro

someday i might upload all the great orlando tips and news that was meant to be in this blog, but until then, you can enjoy the best middle eastern gyro west of the middle east mondays through saturdays at

The Mediterranean Deli
981 W. Fairbanks Ave
Orlando, FL 32804
(407)539-2650


check out their myspace and what others have to say...

myspace

yelp
chow down

Friday's on Tuesday

T.G.I. Friday's presents:

Kickin’ it Old School

An 80's-themed bar flair competition
Tuesday, March 25
6 p.m. to 10 p.m

T.G.I. Friday’s
4151 Millenia Blvd Orlando, FL 32839
(near the Mall at Millenia)
Cover: $10
Reservations: (407) 352-7540

Join the gang at T.G.I. Friday’s near the Mall at Millenia (and bring your friends) as they host an ‘80s-themed bar flair competition on Tuesday, March 25. Titled “Kickin’ it Old School,” the event will feature Orlando’s best bartenders flipping bottles and tins and pouring some of Friday’s signature cocktails for a packed house and a panel of judges. The competition will run from approximately 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. Cover will be $10 at the door. For $40, guests can reserve a table for four. Proceeds will go to Gout Angels, a local charity.

For more information, or to reserve a table, please call (407) 352-7540.

Florida Film Festival

FLORIDA FILM FESTIVAL

March 28 - April 6

ENZIAN THEATRE
1300 S. Orlando Avenue
Maitland, FL 32751
407-629-1088 ext.225
Fax: 407-629-6870

TICKET PACKAGES AVAILABLE

JOHN LENNON
TRIBUTE

AT THE
HARD ROCK CAFE

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 7th, 8PM

(Admission is free, but donations are appreciated.)

Joseph Martens and Hard Rock Orlando presents
A Tribute to John Lennon
through Sound and Vision

This Live Memorial will take place at Hard Rock Live's "Lennon Room" where John Lennon's very own artwork and furniture are on display in a recreation of John and Yoko's New York City Dakota Building apartment.

The evening will feature live acoustic performances of Lennon's music by local musicians and a visual presentation of Lennon's art. Gibson guitars, Southern Wine and Spirits, Bong Vodka, and other local vendors have provided merchandise for a charity raffle. 100% of the proceeds from this event will go to Greater Orlando Children’s Miracle Network.

Doors open @ 8 pm
Admission is free, but donations are appreciated.

For more information call: 407.351.LIVE

meet your social life

MEETUP
DOT COM

If you don't already know about MEETUP, it is a social networking website that actually connects people off line for face to face fun... check the site for any city, like ORLANDO for instance, and find hundreds of groups getting together based on mutual interests. It is interactive, so you can create a group if there isn't one that suits you. These are some of the events I'll be attending, some are private parties and some are public gatherings. The challenge is choosing between them all.

Dec 1st (Sanford Pvt)
   House Party Meetup

Dec 4th (O'Boys)
   Earth Trivia

Dec 6th (Orlando Museum of Art)
   Meetup at OMOA

Dec 7th (Hard Rock)
   Tribute to John Lennon

Dec 8th (West Pvt)
   House Party Meetup

Dec 8th (Southchase Pvt)
   Game Night Meetup

Dec 15th (Weikiva - Pvt)
   Holiday Party Meetup

Dec 16th (Arnold Palmer Hospital)
   Xmas Carols for the kids

Dec 22nd (The Social)
   Less Than Jake

Dec 29th (WMMO Downtown)
   Joan Jett & the Blackhearts

The last two are concerts I'll be at, but they might be on the meetup site as well before long.

The only excuse for not having an active social life in these days of the internet and meetup is that you do not really want one (or are just too shy to go out).

Get over it and get out of the house!

PS... If you are truly a happy hermit, enjoy yourself too!

ORLANDO FILM FESTIVAL

ORLANDO
FILM
FESTIVAL

FREE

THIS WEEKEND

November 8 - 11, 2007
DOWNTOWN

City Arts Factory
29 S. Orange Avenue
(corner of Orange and Pine)
Seating capacity: 240

Gallery at Avalon Island (Formerly DMAC)
39 South Magnolia Avenue
(corner of Magnolia and Pine)
Seating capacity: 65

First come, first seated.

DELAND MUSICFEST

DELAND
MUSIC
FESTIVAL

ALL DAY EVENT
DOWNTOWN DELAND
November 3, 2007
$10 - $15

Hundreds of Bands
Food Drink Fun

Brought to you by
The Songwriter's Showcase of America

All Shook Up

ALL SHOOK UP

AT
THE ORLANDO REP
BUSH THEATRE

July 13 - 15 and July 18 - 22
Reserved Seating, Tickets $11

A second home for theatres lovers, The REP is a great place to see wonderful performances of current and classic shows at a very affordable price. And for actors and techies: some of the shows welcome local actors to their auditions.

MORE FROM THEIR HOME PAGE

The REP is a professional theatre for young audiences located in Central Florida. Our mission is to enlighten, entertain and enrich children and adults by producing theatre of exceptional quality. Our award-winning REP Youth Academy provides classes, camps and specialized training to children ages Pre-K to 18 and local classroom teachers. The REP, housed in a three-theatre complex in Loch Haven Park, is also home to the University of Central Florida's MFA in Theatre for Young Audiences.

THE 2007 - 2008 SEASON

Beauty and the Beast
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
The Emperor's New Clothes
Tomato Plant Girl
It's a Wonderful Life
Treasure Island
Blues' Clues Live! The Most Spectacular Place
I Never Saw Another Butterfly
The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe

open call for actors

Actors' Theatre (G.O.A.T.)
is proud to announce the open call for our first production:

The Odd Couple
by Neil Simon

This renowned comedy begins with a group of the boys assembled for cards in the apartment of a divorced fellow, and if the mess is any indication, it's no wonder that his wife left him. Late to arrive is another fellow who, they learn, has just been separated from his wife. Since he is very meticulous and tense, they fear he might commit suicide, and so go about locking all the windows. When he arrives, he is scarcely allowed to go to the bathroom alone. As life would have it, the slob bachelor and the meticulous fellow decide to bunk together with hilarious results. The patterns of their own disastrous marriages begin to reappear in this arrangement; and so this too must end.

Roles: The Odd Couple has total cast of 8 with 2 female roles and 6 male. All roles are available for casting.
Dates: June 12th and 13th at 7:00 PM.
Callbacks will be on June 14th.
This is an open call, so there will be no scheduled time slots other than the actual call time, which is a general call for all actors.
Location: St. Vincent's Academy, 1515 Edgewater Drive Orlando, FL, in the heart of College Park.
Performances: August 10, 11, 12, 17, 18, 19, 24, 25 and 26.
Contact: Again, there will be no appointment time other than the initial start time of 7:00 PM, which is a general call for the actors. However, you may contact Drew Storie at 407-489-0574 with any questions. Inquiries may also be made on our MySpace page at www.myspace.com/goatgroup or by emailing goatgroup@yahoo.com

- - - - - - - - - -

Check back at the Actors' Theatre (G.O.A.T.) website for info about the other shows scheduled for this year:

Agatha Christie's "Mousetrap"
directed by Larry Stallings
October 12, 13, 19, 20,21,26, 28 2007

"Wally Duggin's Christmas Review"
written by Larry Stallings
and Directed by Shelley Ackman
November 29, 30, December 7,8,9,13,15,16,20,21,22, 2007.

ORLANDO FRINGE FESTIVAL

ORLANDO FRINGE FESTIVAL

May 17th - May 27th
Loch Haven Park

BLOG IT!

myspace it



BE IT!

florida music festival

FLORIDA MUSIC FESTIVAL

May 17 - May 19

Wall Street
Downtown Orlando
Outdoor and Indoor Stages
Many Venues
250 Bands

$10 a Day
$25 for the whole weekend.

WMMO-FM 80's WEEKEND
FREE DOWNTOWN CONCERT SERIES
May 19th, 2007
4PM
CITY HALL

LOVERBOY
THE ROMANTICS

FREE

Central Florida Fair

CENTRAL FLORIDA

FAIR & EXPO

April 19th - 29th, 2007

Shari

FREE CONCERT

SHARI

The Orlando Improv
at
Church Street Station
(corner of Church and Garland)

2PM Saturday April 21st
(VIP Show - FREE FOOD and CDs at 1PM
if you contact Shari her myspace site)

we all live such elaborate lives...

For a night of the finest musical thatre in Orlando you can experince for $10:

AIDA

performed by the Thesbians at

UNIVERSITY HIGH SCHOOL
11501 Eastwood Dr.
Orlando, FL USA 32817

April 12, 13, 14, 15.

for tickets and more info
call 407-482-8700

musicians looking for gigs

If you are a musician or band looking for gigs, here's one great reason to contact Phil and register with SSA (besides the fact that he's a great guy working hard to help you get your music heard)... you'll get regular gig news like this:

To SSA Registered Acts:

Below are open dates for the Full Moon Saloon in Daytona Beach.
If you want to be scheduled for any of the dates listed below please let me know and I will let you know if they are still open. The pay is derived form the door charge. Please note that you should have someone with you to help man the door. They have someone to check ID's and can do this but it is better managed when the band furnishes this. Full PA is provided.

Full Moon Saloon Open sets:

Fri. April 6th 2nd Act
Fri. April 13th 2nd Act
Sat April 21st 1st Act and 2nd Act
Fri April 27th 2nd Act
Sat April 28th 1st Act and 2nd Act

If you have any questions please let me know.

Thanks!

Phil
www.ssa.cc

Meg & Dia

Meg & Dia

opening with Bayside and more for

Amberlin

Wednesday, March 28th, 2007


ONE TICKET AVAILABLE

FREE


give me a call

407-325-1482

Where's the party?

All over town, but this Saturday the crawlers will be out haunting the bars downtown as nerds and jocks and you are welcome to join in the fun as The Revenge of the Nerds Crawl kicks off another

ORLANDO PUB CRAWL

Saturday, Jan. 20th, 2006

8PM - One Eye'd Jacks
9:15 - The Lodge
10:30 - Fusion
11:45 - Chillers

Can't wait to see you get your geek on!

Side note: Just got back from experiencing the wonder and fun of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and if you can find a ticket, grab it and enjoy. The Broadway touring cast does a fantastic job and they deserve every standing ovation they get.


Congrats to Meka Nism for winning the Songwriter's Showcase of America Best Experimental Song Award. She's leaving for Japan for a year next week and the last chance you'll get to see her is this Saturday, yeah, the 20th, at Duke's. Yes, you can do both. Meka - Best of Luck in Japan, we will miss you.


Thanks to Phil for continuing to provide musicians the opportunity to be heard and music lovers the chance to find great new talent.


And if you are not into any of the above, Fall Out Boy will be at the Hard Rock on this same Saturday, the 20th.


Whatever you are into, it's out there, you just have to pick yourself up and get to it. If you've know about a party, event, show, concert, or anything of interest in Orlando of anywhere in Central Florida, let us know. 407-325-1482.

benefit concert

9th Annual Medical Marijuana Benefit Concert


on Saturday, January 20, 2007.

It will be a full day festival showcasing a diverse selection of musicians, poets, dancers, visual artists and lots of creative interaction. There will also be an assortment of community speakers and organizations presenting information about medical marijuana. It should be a good time!!

This 11 hour event will work to raise funds and awareness for FL NORML (National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws) medical marijuana campaign and the protection of patients’ rights. Previously, a person's right to use medical necessity as a defense to marijuana charges has been upheld by several appeals courts in Florida. Marijuana has proven therapeutically useful in treating numerous medical conditions including muscle spasticity, arthritis, and the nausea related to AIDS and cancer chemotherapy. Currently there are 11 states that have laws allowing marijuana to be used as medicine.

Now as we begin some preliminary organization for the 9th Annual Medical Marijuana Benefit Concert at Tobacco Road in January 2007, we are also focusing on some smaller projects with visual arts, independent films, spoken word, dancers and music. Many of these events will be at The Wallflower Gallery - an all ages venue that showcases a variety of artists in Downtown Miami.

This notice is part of the advanced promotions campaign to help to build up more public recognition for the issues concerning medical marijuana.. We are currently looking for sponsors to participate in this community event. Please feel free to contact Ploppy Palace Productions if you are interested in getting involved and helping to promote.

Ploppy Palace Productions & The Wallflower Gallery
10 N.E. 3rd Street
Downtown Miami 33132
305-579-0069
wallflower gallery
wallflower gallery on myspace
medical mj on myspace
9th Annual Medical Marijuana Benefit Concert
Saturday, January 20, 2007
4:00 p.m. – 3:00 a.m.

Tobacco Road
626 South Miami Ave.
Miami, FL 33130
305-374-1198
tobacco road
tobacco road on myspace
21 Years Old + with ID
Admission is $ 10.

We thank you for your support as we work to change the laws concerning medical marijuana.

gigs for the musicians among us

Phil Weidner is one of the most consistent musical forces in the Southeast (and a great musician-songwriter himself). He is the founder of Songwriter's Showcase (linked on the right) and for the last seven years he has helped hundreds of artists and bands find gigs and get heard. These are a couple of the emails you'd get if you were on his mailing list. To sign up, go here. To contact Phil, write to him.

Florida Acts.

There are open sets for the Full Moon Saloon, Daytona Beach, FL.
Here is what is available as of now:

Fri. Dec 1st Sat. Dec 9th Fri. Dec. 15th Sat. Dec. 16th Fri. Dec. 22nd Fri. Dec. 29th Sat. Dec 30th

2nd Act 11:30-1pm 2nd Act 11:30-1pm 1st Act 9:30-11pm and. 2nd 11:30-1pm 1st Act 9:30-11pm 1st Act 9:30-11pm and. 2nd 11:30-1pm 1st Act 9:30-11pm and. 2nd 11:30-1pm 1st Act 9:30-11pm

PA and sound tech is provided.
Pay is determined from door ($5 cover) Bands split 100% of draw.
(please note that this pay scale will change after Jan 6th if we still are scheduling there to help pay for the sound tech and security)
bands receive water and soda free and 50% off alcohol drinks with a limit of four drinks per band member.
Venue: 21 & up.
The venue has a large stage and good sound system and is located at 712 Main Street across from the Bank & Blues.
All styles considered

If interested in any of the above sets please email what set you prefer and I will let you know ASAP if it is still open.

Thanks

Phil
http://www.ssa.cc



Here are some other gig openings with basic details.

1. Full Moon Saloon

The SSA will be scheduling acts on Friday and Saturday for the Full Moon Saloon in Daytona Beach FL. This scheduling service is provided FREE to the venue and all current SSA registered acts as part of their SSA benefits. The Full Moon saloon located on the world famous Main St offers one of the best stages in the area and is should provide excellent performance opportunities for acts wanting to play in the Daytona Beach area. The acts scheduled to perform at these shows will be posted online at the SSA's Florida scheduling page in the weeks ahead. If your annual SSA membership/registration is not current please update this before making your request.

Two bands are scheduled at each show and the bands split 100% of the door @ $5 cover.
The event is 21 and up (moshing activity is not supported)
The sets are 9:30-11PM or 11:30-1AM

We are only scheduling these shows and are not responsible for promoting. Promoting the shows will mostly be needed to be from the scheduled acts and the venue. If you agree to the above terms and would like to be considered to be scheduled please email me your audio weblink. If acts are approved to be scheduled we will email you to confirm the show date with you. If you have any further questions please let me know. (email communication preferred)
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
2. SSA Christmas Show:

The SSA Christmas show will be held at the Casements in Ormond Beach on Wed Dec 20th from 6:30 PM-8:30 PM. (The show will not be at Baileys Riverbridge Church this year) We want to produce the best quality show we possibly can and will schedule as many acts as we can during the 2 hour show. Acts wanting to perform at this show should either perform original rendition of traditional Christmas songs or original Christmas songs that they have written. Generally 7-10 acts are scheduled for this show and perform 3-5 songs each. This is a charity event and all performances are gradus. If interested email your request. Acts approved for the show will be emailed in then next 7-10 days.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
3. Edgewater School is looking for kid oriented groups to perform for 5 year olds up to 11 at a school in Edgewater, Fl. Singing,Instrumentations and /or dance(hip hop) is acceptable. Travel expenses are covered ($50-100 depending on distance) Must be fingerprinted threw the Jessica Lunsford Act. (The school can pay for this as well if needed. It generally cost around $65) The scheduled dates are during Jan-May. If interested please email your request interests and a description of what your show will involve. Acts will be notified in the next 2-3 weeks if selected. If you have any questions please let me know (emailed communication preferred). Acts will be notified in the next 2-3 weeks if selected.